It’s when the sunlight turns golden that I know autumn has begun.

That slanted light strikes differently. It shines across the stubbled fields, already shorn of their wealth, making them glow against the sky. It’s rich and clear. It signals that harvest is here and summer is fading.

The garden is still green and blooming with late season gusto, but fall is coming. I feel it in the crisp, dewy mornings. See it in the clouds stacked across the sky. Frost will come and then snow.

The garden will be made new with each shift of the weather. And with that shift I am thinking about the autumn and winter garden, contemplating what that late season might look like.

Years ago, September would have been the time to “put the garden to bed” in anticipation for the deep blanket of snow to come. Most perennials would have been cut to the ground, foliage and flower stalks too often crushed by the heavy layers or made anonymous under the white.

With less reliable snow cover year after year, the garden beds have become more visible through the cold months. And so, over the last decade, September has become more about editing the garden than ending it.

As it moves through autumn and winter, I’ve discovered that many plants offer another whole season or two of interest if left long enough. Coloured foliage,........

© Sarnia Observer